Process for treating fibers



Patented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITED STATES 1,921,363 ICE PATENT OFF No Drawing.Original application February 21, 1930, Serial No. 430,461, and inFrance January 11, 1930. Divided and this application July 11,

3 Claims.

It is known that for sizing textile fibers emulsions of fatty orresinous substances are usually employed. The most usual emulsifyingagents are sulphoricinoleates, or in most recent practice', othersubstances which like those above specified, are derived from thesulphonic acids group.

For sizing fibers of animal origin these emulsions do not present anydisadvantage but this is not the case when vegetable fibers are thustreated. In fact cotton and its products such as artificial silk mayindeed be injured or destroyed by such agents owing to hydrolyticaction.

The attack may be so rapid, under favorable temperatures or otherconditions that, for example, it is not possible to export to tropicalcountries artificial silks sized by these processes, since the threadsare found to be completely destroyed on arrival at their destination.

An example is hereinafter given which shows to what degree theresistance and tensile strength of vegetable fiber is changed by theaction of these agents. l

A specimen A of viscose silk has been treated with a size of ordinarycomposition. A specimen B of the same quality has been subjected tosimilar treatment but without the use of Turkey red oil.

The samples and a standard thread after being kept for three weeks at atemperature of C.

showed the following resistances:

Resistance g gigg In dry atphere mosphero Standard sample not tr [ed 1.095 1. 025 Sample A 0. 510 O. 570 l. 095 l. 045

In a like experiment, commercial samples of.

sized artificial silk have been found to lose up to 80% of theirresistance.

The object of this invention is to obviate the employment, for sizingtextile fibers and more particularly fibers of vegetable origin, of anysubstance liable to attack these fibers, including artificial silk, witha view to enabling the sized fibers to be exported to and used intropical countries.

In particular the invention absolutely avoids the use of sulphoricinatesand other'sulphonated compounds as emulsifying agents for thepreparation of emulsions to be employed as sizes.

According to this invention emulsions of oils, fats, resin or mixturesof the substances in a dispersion of casein, gelatin or shellac or amixture of these substances are employed for this treatment. Asdispersion agents alkaline borates Serial No. 550,292

are employed. In order to obtain a neutral sodium or ammonium borate itis necessary to add to borax some soda lye or alkali (ammonia).

To the emulsion thus obtained, there is added, according torequirements, a soluble silicate so as to set up a reaction with theborate. By reason of the presence of protective colloids in the emu.-sion, the reaction product forms a colloids solution changed bydesiccation to a gel which is irreversible in Water at normalatmospheric temperatures. The granules of this gel present in additionan electrification of the surface of the same sign. By reason of thissuperficial. ionic charge the fibers repel one another during'drying andin this way sticking together of the fibers is avoided without detrimentto the sizing.

The casein provides the strongest sizes. Borax may advantageously beused as the dispersion; agent for avoiding adhesion of the threads.Casein swollen by steeping for several hours in water is therefore addedto the borax solution. After a time (not exceeding two hours) thedispersion will have been completed. This solution is added gradually tofatty or resinous substances with regular agitation so as to obtain athick homogeneous mass readily emulsifiable in an excess of water. Thepreservation of the flexibility brilliance and color of the fiberdepends on the choice of the substances emulsified. Gum mastic dissolvedin castor oil gives excellent results from this point of view. The sizestend to become rather sticky or tacky in the neighborhood of 40 C. butthis objection is easily overcome by substituting a vegetable fat suchas palm oil in place of part of the castor oil. After standing.

for two hours a dilute solution of silicate ofsoda is added and themixture is diluted with water and filtered twice through a filter offine silk.

The emulsions thus prepared according to the invention disclosed in myco-pending application Serial No. 430,461, are employed for sizingfibers from different sources, either in a single bath, or by passingthe fibers from the sizing bath through a deglutinating bathparticularly when very fine fibers are being treated.

In this case the second bath can be of low concentration and the time oftreatment of short duration.

- In the composition of the deglutinating bath no substance is employedwhich might detrimcntally affect the resistance of the fibers eitherdirectly or by hydrolysis which can easily be set up in hot or humidclimates. I

The deglutinating baths-employed in carrying out the process arecomposed of formates, acetates and sulphocyanides of metals such ascalciuml zinc, aluminium or lead.

By way of example and not by way of limitation the composition ishereinafter given of some emulsions complying with the characteristicabove specified.

Example 1 grammes Palm oil 50 Casein 10 Alkali (ammonia) 25 Distilledwater 100 Borax 5 c. c. s. Commercial solution of silicate of soda 20This size gives the fiber a mat appearance. The weight is increased 10%.

Example 2 grammes Colophony 10 Cocoa-nut oil 25 Casein 3 Soda lye 4Distilled water 1, 000 Borax 1 C. C. S. Commercial solution of silicateof soda 20 This gives a more brilliant sizing than Example 1 andincreases the weight 10%.

The hanks are steeped in the bath which is stirred either by hand ormechanically during from one to three hours. After complete draining thehanks pass to a second bath of one of the three compositions as follows.

Example 3 grammes Aluminum acetate 1 Acetate of lime l Acetic acid s 1Distilled water 100 Example 4 grammes Aluminum sulphocyanide 10 Aceticacid 1 Distilled water 100 Example 5 grammes Lead acetate 5 Acetic acid1 Distilled water 100 The fiber is left in the second bath for a periodof from half an hour to 0ne-hour and then dried. The fibers are wellsized and can be readily wound in skeins. They are resistant to theeffects of high temperatures.

Example 6 grammes Gum mastic 24 Castor oil 12 Palm oil 12 Borax 6Distilled water 200 Casein 8 Distilled water 100 {Commercial solution ofsilicate of soda 5 Distilled water 500 The soaked casein is added to thesolution of borax and after standing for from two to four hours, themixture is added little by little to the solution of the gum in theoils, the two ingredients of the emulsion being brought to the sametemperature. After standing for two hours the dilute solution ofsilicate of soda is added the mixture is .ployed without a second bathparticularly for sizing threads of good quality. Afterdraining thethreads are dried at a temperature of about 60 C. The threads fall apartduring this operation. The deglutination of the threads can becompletely effected, before drying, by immersion -for 5 to 30 minutes ina bath of one of the solutions as given in Examples 3, 4, and 5.

Example 7 grammes Gum mastic 60 Linseed oil 30 Palm oil 3 0 Borax 20Water 300 Casein 10 Water 100 Silicate of soda v 10 Water 500 Made up tofinal volume of two litres.

Example 8 grammes Gum mastic 30 Castor oil 30 Orange shellac 20 Borax 40Water 400 Silicate of soda 5 Made up to two litres.

. Example 9 grammes Gum mastic 30 Castor oil 30 Japan wax 20 Borax 40Water 400 Soda lye 6 Casein 26 Water 100 Silicate of soda Made up to twolitres.

I claim:

1. Process of treating vegetable and animal fibers, which consists infirst treating the fibers in a sizing bath, comprising drying oils,casein, borax and water, of an oleatic emulsion free from sulphonatedcompounds using alkaline borates as dispersion agents with the additionof a soluble silicate; then passing the thus treated fibers through adeglutinating bath.

2. Process of treating vegetable and animal fibers, which consists infirst treating the fibers in a sizing bath, comprising drying oils,casein, borax and water, of an oleatic emulsion free from sulphonatedcompounds using alkaline borates as dispersion agents with the additionof a soluble silicate; then passing the thus treated fibers through adeglutinating bath of low'concentration for a short time. i

3. Process of treating vegetable and animal fibers, which consists infirst treating the fibers in a sizing bath, of an oleatic emulsion freefrom sulphonated compounds using alkaline borates as dispersion agentswith the addition of a soluble silicate; then passing the thus treatedfibers through a fixing bath of low concentration for a short time, saidfixing bath comprising one of the group of compounds consisting offormates,

acetates and sulphocyanides of calcium, zinc,

aluminium and lead.

GEORGES LEFRANC.

